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Unisys Unveils Windows Datacenter High-Availability Program

Unisys this week declared its Microsoft Datacenter High Availability Program ready to go.

The program is part of a Windows Server 2003-related overhaul of the Windows Datacenter Program, the support regimen that helped guarantee the availability of Microsoft's high-end Windows 2000 Datacenter Server.

While Unisys is the first to announce that its new support program is ready, customers can't buy Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition on Unisys ES7000 servers for about a month. Due to the need to run hardware and software configurations through Microsoft's series of tests in order to be certified to sell the Datacenter edition of Windows, Unisys doesn't expect to offer the OS until June. Unisys is well positioned to be at or near the front of the pack of vendors selling Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition.

Unisys was among the vendors working closely with Microsoft in developing the newer support program and has tested aspects of it with JDP customers in the pre-release phases of Windows Server 2003.

Microsoft detailed the specifics of its new Datacenter High Availability Program in February. Changes include a new High Availability Resolution Queue, a more regimented version of the old Joint Support Queue, and shorter stress tests for vendor's to recertify their systems after changing minor components.

Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition is the second generation of Microsoft's data-center class offering. Improvements over the three-year-old original include, in addition to the new high availability program, support for 64-bit processors, up to 64 Itanium Family processors in SMP configurations, up to 512 GB of RAM and eight-node failover clustering.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

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